Group Dynamics and Multicultural groups

1. Group Dynamics and Multicultural groups

3. Belbins team roles Resource Investigator: Extroverted, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities and develops contacts who can help the project. Team Worker: Cooperative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction and calms the waters. Coordinator: Mature, confident and a good team leader. Clarifies goals, promotes decision-making and delegates well. Shaper: Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Drive and courage to overcome obstacles. Implementer: Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions. Completer-Finisher: Painstaking, conscientious. Seeks errors and omissions. Delivers on time. Plant: Creative, imaginative, unorthodox. Able to solve difficult problems. Specialist: Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply. Monitor-Evaluator: Sober, strategic, discerning. Sees and evaluates options. Judges accurately. People Action Thinking

4. Recognizable roles in a ”normal” group • The “boss” • The underdog • The party guy • The funny guy • The serious • Etc.

5. As the group develops (It may develop) • Meeting facilitator • The versioning responsible (systematic) • Software / Technical responsible • Conflict mediator • Language and reference responsible • Contact to supervisor • The planner • The difference between the beginner group and the professionals – discipline, experience & knowledge

6. Talking about multicultural project groups / statements

7. Managing differences? • Sometimes I feel that the xxx students in my project team don’t accept differences. When I did some things in my way they commented or even laughed that it is stupid or useless etc. But for me it was normal what I was doing - because I was taught to do that during all my life.

8. Different process strategies • For example, in the south of Europe, is not very impolite if you interrupt someone when he is talking. We use to do it. (Spanish student) Whydon’t Danish students careabouttheirproject? - But they do care … verymuch! - But theyalmostnevershout at eachother!

9. Resistance to teamwork? All the time I have to rely on others. I hate that. … I have nothing against working in a team, but sometimes you need to feel independent to develop your imagination and creativity. And now, even when you are doing your homework you have to adapt to others, you have to wait when they are available, and finally when they come to you to work, or you have other plans, or maybe you need to be alone. (Lithuanian student) Being here I learned how group work is important. It was the main source of new ideas I got from others, and with their help I developed the ideas I already had. (same student, 2 months later)

10. Lunch! Also I would like to speak about lunch. WHAT ABOUT THE TIMETABLE FOR LUNCHING!!! Because in Denmark we have just a break of 30 minutes… and I CAN’T EAT IN 30 - So I wait until 3 o’clock to lunch.

11. The challenge of multicultural teams Research shows that the behavior of people in work teams varies across cultures. Problems: • Reaching agreement is more difficult • Communication is more difficult • Building trust and respect is more difficult • More stress Conclusion Team members must pay extra attention to the team’s process

12. What’s the problem? • Misunderstandings and misinterpretations • Becauseweinterpret the otherperson’sbehaviourwithin the framework of the values, beliefs, and norms of ourownculture

13. Problem: ”The rush to structure” Most newlyformedmulticultural teams jumpsstraight to a discussion of the task • Failed to devote enough time to discuss the interactiveprocess • Style and patterns of communication • How to conduct meetings • How to build relationships • How to make decisions etc. • Result: problems later on Canney Davidson, S., Snow, C., Snell, and S.A. Hambrick, D.C., (1993): Creating High Performing Transnational Teams: Processes, Phases and Pitfalls, ICEDR Report, 30

14. The central question How can we create an effective team that will enable us to • be coherent • find procedures that suits all team members despite the cultural differences among us? OR How can we work together to defy the pull of gravity from our local cultures?

15. Pros and cons • Heterogeneous teams can outperform homogeneous teams • Research indicates that multicultural teams tend to perform • EITHER much better than monocultural teams • Identifying problem perspectives • Generating alternatives • OR much worse than monocultural teams • Failure to overcome differences in attitudes, values, behaviour, experience, background, expectations, language

16. The solution? Talk, talk, talk • expectations related to the task • expectations related to the process “You have to start slowly and end faster; by starting too fast, you run the risk of not ending at all.”

17. What prejudices do you have about each other? Take turns telling you prejudices about nationalities (not individuals) – good and bad aspects. The nationality who is being spoken about stays silent. You can discuss: • Where and how the nationality live? • What are unusual for the nationality? • Education and field of expertise • Sports and music? • Food and drinks? After a round where everyone has told their prejudices about a single nationality, the nationality responds to what is true and what is not . Group discussion

18. Six steps to effective intercultural communication • Beaware of yourownculturalassumptionsand values. • Accept the reality of yourownculturalconditioning. • Accept the reality of the culturalconditioning of others. • Don’tassumethatwhatyoumeant is whatwasunderstood. • Don’tassumethatwhatyouunderstood is whatwasmeant. • Test for understanding.

19. Think differences in whendelegating responsibilities and work • Delegate responsibility in a clear way • What is each member’s responsibility towards the group and the individual members • What is the group’s responsibility towards the individual members • Delegating work • Try not to become too much of a specialist in different areas – you are still solving the same overall problem! • Discuss the different tasks regularly. The students working on each task hand out questions to the rest of the group prior to the discussion. • Evaluate and qualify each others work – and writing.

20. Groupmembers review and comment upon text Groupmembers implement changes The group develops a content brief and agree upon who is doing what: subjects, ideas, perspectives, coherence to other project parts Groupmembers sends all material to the rest of the group for comments and review Groupmembers get together and present feedback and comments Group agrees upon changes Groupmembers write their text based upon content brief and the agreement Working together in a groupThe typical writing process

21. Group meetings and communication • Follow an agenda • Assign a chairperson and a minute-taker • Is there any unfinished business from last meeting • Use written contributions to provide input for the discussion • Visualise the project and the schedule • Summarise and conclude on each discussion • Try to ensure that the meeting/discussion results in some form of written work • Make sure everyone understands their “homework”. • Evaluate your meetings and your communication from time to time.

22. Group developmentLenneer-Axelson 1995 Adjourning New individual directions – Good-bye Performing Energy and synergy produce results Norming Strong relations – group culture Storming Discussions start – small conflicts Forming Get to know each other – finding one’s place

23. Teamwork for real!!

24. Together we stand • Don’t flip the bozo bit • Get everybody's head into the game • Create a shared vision Jim McCarthy, Dynamics of Software Development

25. Who are you? • Don’t know what you don’t know • Be an authority, not an authority figure • The world changes – so should you Jim McCarthy, Dynamics of Software Development

26. Design, plan and get there! • Never forget the triangle • Don’t treat a bad date for a bad date • Don’t shake the jello • When you slip don’t fall • Remember to celebrate Jim McCarthy, Dynamics of Software Development

27. Design, plan and get there! • Design time at designtime • Avoid the feature shoot-out • Every milestone deserves a no-blame postmortem • Be SMART (not JM) Jim McCarthy, Dynamics of Software Development

28. SMART objectives http://www.rapidbi.com/created/WriteSMARTobjectives.html

29. Isolation and burn-out • Be aware of the lonely guy in the room • Nobody reaches a milestone until everybody does Jim McCarthy, Dynamics of Software Development

30. The Group Charter • Describes how the group has agreed to work together • It describes the group • It describes the groups values • It describes the promises the group members gives to each other • It basically describes the preliminary problem that the group has agreed to try to solve • It is basically the “project contract” among the group members that each individual in the group promises to keep.

31. Some questions regarding task issues • What is the team’s mission & priorities • Schedule (how much will you work?) • Learning (what?) • Develop a good quality project report • Good grades • Others?? • What is the expected output of your project? • How should time be managed e.g. How important are deadlines? • How will work be organized and divided? - What can be done together? Apart? • How should decisions be made (vote, consensus, compromise)? • Which technologies will you be using? • How will information be passed on? To whom? When? Formally or informally? Within the group or outside?

32. Some questions regarding process issues • Is trust important? What is trust and how is it developed? • How much time for social activities, when, why, how? • If it appears that the input of some members is being ignored – What do you do? • How will you secure good communication among the group members? • How is conflict managed? Avoided? Confronted? • To what extent do we compromise? Is negotiation seen as win/lose, lose/win or win/win? • How can we ensure participation from all members? • How and when to evaluate performance? • How direct can feedback be and how is it presented?

33. The Group Charter

34. Setting expectations (when)Important dates

35. To the next time • Read guidelines for preparing project reports • Readyour mails regarding supervisor and class (Henrik, Sven og Lars) • Develop Group charter and send to supervisor • UploadGroupcharter to yourroom at studienet